From the Human Rights Campaign website:

“Transgender Day of Remembrance was set aside in November to honor Rita Hester whose murder on November 28, 1998, kicked off the ‘Remembering Our Dead’ web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Rita Hester’s murder, like most anti-transgender murder cases, is yet to be solved.

“November 20 has become a day that honors the memory of those whose lives have been lost in acts of anti-transgender acts of violence. Recently, there have been record numbers of reports of anti-transgender violence throughout the world. In the US alone last year, 21 transgender people have been murdered, and the vast majority of them have been transgender women of color. Over the past decade, more than one person per month has died due to transgender-based hatred or prejudice. This trend shows no sign of abating.

“Transgender Day of Remembrance serves several purposes. It raises public awareness of hate crimes against transgender people, an action that current media doesn’t perform. Day of Remembrance publicly mourns and honors the lives of our siblings who might otherwise be forgotten. Through the vigil, we express love and respect for our people in the face of indifference and hatred.”